


One Night

by Rilliane



Category: Code Geass
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arabian Nights Fusion, Be Careful What You Wish For, Djinni & Genies, Gen, Genie!Lelouch, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-26
Updated: 2017-09-26
Packaged: 2019-01-05 20:28:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12196851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rilliane/pseuds/Rilliane
Summary: Suzaku gets his hands on a magical lamp and proceeds to make a wish. It doesn't go as planned.





	One Night

**Author's Note:**

> SuzaLulu Week 2017
> 
> Day 5 (September 26)  
> AU: magical creatures

Suzaku stared at the golden lamp with a mixture of gratitude and confusion. “That’s… quite a souvenir, Kaguya. I didn’t know you were in the Middle East recently.”

His cousin beamed, leaning forward to stare at her reflection in the polished surface of the lamp. “It is, isn’t it? And the man I bought it from said it was magical!”

Suzaku sent her a dubious smile, reverting his gaze back to the object in his hand. He had to admit the oil lamp looked pretty genuine, not like all those plastic souvenirs meant to attract tourists, but then again, he was no expert. It could just as well break in a few days. “Right. Thank you.”

Kaguya waved her hand dismissively, turning on her heel and marching for the door. “Yeah, yeah. I’m just making sure that _you_ remember to bring me something in the future. Oh, and Suzaku,” she paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Make sure to rub it. It _is_ a magical lamp, after all!” And, with a wink, she was gone.

The Japanese boy stared at the golden lamp for a few more moments before putting it on a bookshelf with a sigh. A gift or not, it had little uses in his apartment aside from being a nice ornament.

Turning on the TV and trying to watch the news, Suzaku found himself constantly distracted by the lamp. The weather outside was anything but sunny, but the light seemed to have somehow reflected off the golden surface, getting in his field of vision. Finally losing his patience, Suzaku got up from the couch and picked up the souvenir. It seemed heavier than before, causing him to pause. Kaguya’s words from not so long ago rang in his ears.  _Make sure to rub it._

It was stupid. There was no such thing as magical lamps. He would only make a fool out of himself. Still… there was no one around to witness his stupidity, so what was the harm?

Feeling incredibly self-conscious, Suzaku took one last look around to make sure he was alone before rubbing the polished surface.

One second. Two. Three.

Suzaku let out a breath, feeling even more silly than before. Honestly, what was he thinking? It wasn’t like genies actually lived in magical lamps, so—

“Took you long enough.”

Suzaku dropped the lamp with a shriek.

There, on his recently vacated couch, sat a man. His hair was raven black and his eyes were unnaturally purple, but that wasn’t what attracted most of Suaku’s attention. It was his clothes. They were flowing white robes decorated with jewels, complete with a white-golden hat. All in all, he looked either like a cosplayer of some sort or an actor from a historical movie, though Suzaku couldn’t pinpoint the period exactly. One thing was sure, though- he was supposed to be playing the king.

“W-who are you?” Suzaku stuttered, still caught off guard by the stranger.

The man rolled his eyes, giving Suzaku a _look_. “Who do you think?”

“A burglar?” Suzaku offered, bending down to pick up the dropped lamp.

“Uh huh. One you invited to your home.”

The Japanese gave him a skeptical look. “When?”

“When you rubbed that lamp.”

Suzaku’s gaze flicked between the lamp and the stranger before stopping on the white-dressed man. “You can’t be serious.”

“I assure you I am.”

Suzaku gave him a flat stare. “So what, you’re a genie of the lamp?”

“I suppose that is correct, yes.”

“No offence, but you don’t look very genie-like,” Suzaku said, looking pointedly at the stranger’s clothes. While they looked outlandish enough, they were a far cry from the outfits usually depicted in One Thousand and One Nights.

The self-proclaimed genie didn’t seem surprised by the declaration. “And you’ve met hundreds of genies in your life, haven’t you? Since you know what they look like.”

Suzaku felt his cheeks redden a little, which was stupid, because _he wasn’t the one mad here._ “Okay, then prove it,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Sure. What’s you wish?”

“My… what?” Suzaku felt a little take aback by the instant answer.

The stranger once again rolled his eyes, gesturing to the lamp. “A genie. A lamp. You know how the story goes. Just choose something, if I’m lying then no harm’s done, right?”

Suzaku supposed that was true. Still, there was something in the back of his mind screaming at him in warning, and his intuition was rarely wrong. Suddenly he remembered all those _other_ movies, where genies weren’t as friendly as they appeared to be.

…but that didn’t matter since genies didn’t exist.

“Uh, okay. I wish for a pizza?” At least that seemed like a safe option.

The stranger snapped his fingers and before Suzaku had a chance to say anything the door bell announced that someone was at the door.

“I, uh, have to answer it,” Suzaku rushed to the door, wondering if Kaguya had forgotten something. He also wondered how she would react to seeing an apparent cosplayer in his living room. Knowing his cousin, she would be delighted.

Opening the door, Suzaku stared in surprise at the man on the other side.

“I have an order for, uh, Suzaku Kururugi?” The man dressed in Pizza Hat’s red squinted suspiciously at the piece of paper in his hand. “Hawaian?”

Suzaku opened and closed his mouth, trying to put his thoughts in some semblance of order. “But I didn’t… order anything!”

The man shrugged, pushing the large box towards Suzaku’s chest. “It’s pre-paid, so maybe someone ordered it for you. Look, if you’re Suzaku Kururugi  then just take it.”

Suzaku did.

When he came back to the living room, disbelief and confusion were written all over his face. “That was a coincidence.”

“Sure.”

“Kaguya must have ordered it for me.”

“I’m sure she did.”

Suzaku stared at the man for a few more seconds before bursting out. “You’re really a genie?!”

Smirking, the man got up from the couch and pointed a finger at Suzaku’s chest. “Yup. And you just wasted your first wish on _pizza_ , of all things.” He lifted the lid of the box, sniffing the contains. “At least it appears to be a good pizza.”

Suzaku took a step back, slowly lowering himself to the floor. “I don’t believe it.”

“Great. Now can you please name the other two wishes so we can have it out of the way?”

Confused, Suzaku lifted his head to stare at the genie. “Other two wishes?”

The black haired man sighed, once again dropping to the couch. “Come on. It’s not that hard to figure out, is it? I know it’s a popular tale, so don’t act so surprised. You have three wishes,” he raised three fingers before lowering one. “You already used one. That leaves you with two.”

“And… are there any rules?

“Rules?” The question seemed innocent, but for some reason Suzaku didn’t trust these wide violet eyes.

“Oh, you know,” he said offhandedly. “’You can’t force anyone to love you’, ‘You can’t kill anyone’, these things.”

The genie leaned back in the couch, bringing a finger to his mouth and looking at Suzaku curiously. “You know, you’re the first person to ask me this.”

For some reason, that put Suzaku on the defensive. “I just want to make sure!”

“Well, no rules as far as I know,” the genie shrugged.

Suzaku frowned. “So… you _can_ make people fall in love with you?”

The man smirked. “Why? Wanna try?”

Suzaku spluttered. “N-no! I was just curious!”

“Oh?” The genie tilted his head, looking at Suzaku with half lidded eyes. Now that he was past the initial shock, Suzaku found himself focusing more on the stranger’s physical features than his clothes. He was young- maybe around Suzaku’s age or slightly older, with pale skin and aristocratic features that complemented his regal robes. If Suzaku were to guess, he would say he was either American or European, though his accent was impeccable Japanese. Then again, he could be neither- who knew where magical beings did come from? But the thing that attracted most of his attention were the eyes- so unnatural in shade and yet so fascinating.  The genie would be beautiful even without them, but the eyes definitely sealed the deal.

The genie raised an eyebrow amusedly and said, “You know, there is no reason to waste a perfectly good wish for something you can have for free.”

It took Suzaku one minute to process what had been said, and by the time he did, his face resembled a tomato. “W-what?”

The genie stood gracefully from the couch, coming over to crouch next to Suzaku. His eyes were wide and friendly, but there was something dark in his gaze. “Just saying,” he said nonchalantly, putting one hand on Suzaku’s arm. “Stealing one’s free will isn’t the best way to win their heart, you know.”

The Japanese stared at him horrified, instantly forgetting the previous embarrassment in favor of the implications. “I would never do that!”

“Good.”

The silence that fell between them was neither uncomfortable nor cozy, but Suzaku was too preoccupied by his thought to take notice. When he had asked that question, it was supposed to be lighthearted- he wasn’t _seriously_ considering wishing for someone to fall in love with him. Still, it was chilling to fully realize the consequences- that that would mean forcing someone to do something against their will.

Sadly, he wondered how many times someone wished for that to happen.

“Hey, do you…” the silence was finally getting uncomfortable. “Do you have a name, or something?”

Purple eyes snapped to him in surprise, and for the first time Suzaku had a feeling he caught the man off guard. “What?”

Suzaku shrugged awkwardly, playing with the hem of his shirt. “Do you genies have names? Or am I supposed to just call you Genie?”

The genie blinked before his mouth quirked in something that resembled a wistful smile. “Oh, I do have a name. I suppose you can call me Lelouch.”

Something ringed in Suzaku’s mind, but for the life of him, he couldn’t remember where he’d heard the name before. It sounded kind of French, so maybe his initial guess about the man being from Europe was correct.

He smiled. “Nice to meet you, Lelouch. I’m Suzaku Kururugi.”

The introduction prompted a bemused look from the genie, but the man quickly shook it off and smirked. “Lovely. Now, what’s your next wish, Suzaku Kururugi? Burrito?”

Blushing, Suzaku suddenly felt slightly light-headed. The implications finally dawned on him. A real genie and real wishes. He had power everyone dreamed of, and he… had no idea how to use it. Things like money and fame immediately crossed his mind, but Suzaku was quick to dismiss them. He wasn’t _greedy_. Only the bad guys wished for such things, and they usually ended up dead. He would be better than them. He would wish for…

“…world peace.”

Lelouch raised an elegant eyebrow. “Pardon?”

Suzaku nodded to himself, proud of his decision. “Yes. I wish for world peace.”

The genie smiled and snapped his fingers. “Done.”

The door bell rang once again. Suzaku looked towards the door in confusion.  “Uh, is World Peace standing at my door?”

Lelouch shrugged. “Check it.”

Cautiously, Suzaku approached the door and slowly pressed the door knob. He was greeted by the image of the very same man who delivered his magic-pizza not so long ago, this time dressed in yellow postman outfit.

“I have an order for, uh, Suzaku Kururugi?”

“…you’ve just been here fifteen minutes ago.”

The man looked annoyed. “Do you think I remember every customer?” He presented Suzaku with a notebook and a pen. “Here, sign this.”

Belatedly, Suzaku did. The man handed Suzaku  a small package before bidding him goodbye and disappearing down the stairs.

Confused, Suzaku returned to the living room, waving the package in his benefactor’s face. “What’s this?”

Lelouch just rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you open it instead of asking me?”

Gingerly unwrapping the paper, Suzaku could only stare at the small plastic box hidden inside. “What the hell?”

There, on the cover of what Suzaku suspected to be a CD, read the words: _World Peace_ by Pamela Stevens.

Lelouch crept behind Suzaku and leaned over his shoulder. “How boring. I hoped for a book. Who even heard about a Pamela Stevens?”

Suzaku whirled around, grabbed him by the collar. “You did this on purpose?!”

Lelouch, for his credit, didn’t seem overly intimidated by Suzaku’s glare. “Do you honestly think you’re the first person to ask for this?” He drawled, trying to disentangle himself from Suzaku’s arms. It didn’t work. “Please, people have been asking for this for _millennia_. It never works. And no, I didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t have control over the magic behind the wishes,” he paused. “Ususally.”

Suzaku narrowed his eyes. “Are you telling the truth?”

Lelouch bit his lip and something resembling hurt flicked across his face.  “Do you think I’d lie to you?”

The words hit Suzaku with an unseen force and he let go of the stranger as if burned. “S-sorry,” he mumbled, diverting his gaze. “I didn’t mean for it to sound like that.”

“It’s okay,” Lelouch sighed, dropping back to the couch. “I’m used to it.”

“U-used to?” As if Suzaku didn’t already feel guilty.

“Yeah,” he muttered, turning his gaze to the window. “People always blame me for how wishes turn out, even though I have no control over them.”

“I-I’m so sorry!” Suzaku cried, lowering his body to the floor in a bow. “I had no idea! I shouldn’t have immediately blamed you. I should’ve known better.”

Feeling a tug on his shoulder, Suzaku looked up to see a small smile gracing the other man’s lips. “It’s alright,” he murmured, pulling Suzaku to his feet. “I don’t blame you.”

“Really?” Suzaku looked at him hopefully.

“Yeah,” Lelouch said, tugging at Suzaku’s sleeve and steering him to the couch. “I understand why you were upset. It was a noble wish.”

Suzaku let out a sigh, nodding. “Yes, I thought I could do something right for once.”

Lelouch smiled encouragingly. “Don’t worry, you still can. You still have the third wish!”

Staring into these intense purple eyes, Suzaku found himself instantly believing this. It was hard not to believe Lelouch when he seemed so earnest.

Though, he was getting quite distracted by the hand on his shoulder. Suzaku knew Lelouch meant for it to be reassuring, but Suzaku couldn’t help but notice the pale skin of his fingers, so delicate and yet so fragile, and worry whether they would break if he were to hold them, and…

Another set of slender fingers snapped right in front of Suzaku’s face. “Earth to Suzaku. Are you there?”

Suzaku snapped out of his reverie with an embarrassed cough. “Oh, yeah. What were we talking about?”

The Japanese had a feeling that Lelouh used all of his self-restraint not to roll his eyes at that moment. “Your third wish. How are you going to use it?”

Right, he still had his third wish. He could still do something good! But…

Suzaku’s face fell. What if he screwed up again? What if his third wish turned out like the second one? That would be awful.

What did the good guys always wish for in movies? Which wishes didn’t turn out catastrophically?

After a minute of consideration, Suzaku smiled brightly. There was always _one_ thing that people used their last wish for that _always_ worked out.

Lelouch tilted his head curiously. “You know?”

“Yes!” Suzku grinned. “I’ll free you!” Then, after a pause, “If you want to, that is.”

Purple eyes widened in shock and Suzaku suddenly felt giddy with excitement. Yes, the genies in movies always wanted to be free and the good guys always helped them in the end. Maybe Suzaku couldn’t have the world peace, but at least he’d save _one_ life.

“You’d really do it?” Lelouch whispered, tightening his hold on Suzaku’s arm. “You’d waste your last wish… on me?”

The way he said it implied he thought himself not worthy of it. Suzaku was quick to disagree. “It won’t be a waste!” He exclaimed, putting both his hands on the genie’s shoulders. “Not if it’s for _you_!”

Lelouch suddenly lurched forward, enveloping him in a hug. “Thank you!”

Suzaku felt his body growing hot. Stuttering, he said, ”S-so, it’s done?”

“No silly. You have to say the right words. Repeat after me: ‘I, Suzaku Kururugi…’”

“I, Suzaku Kururugi,” Suzaku echoed breathlessly.

“…wish to free you, genie of the lamp…”

“…wish to free you, genie of the lamp…”

“…Lelouch vi Britannia.”

“…Lelouch vi Britannia!”

The last thing that crossed Suzaku’s mind before his world went completely black was how curious it was that Lelouch happened to share his name with the infamous Demon Emperor.

* * *

Euphemia stared curiously at the golden lamp presented to her by her sister. “It’s beautiful, Cornelia. I` hope I can accompany you the next time you leave for the Middle East.”

The older woman shrugged awkwardly, already turning for the door. “I thought you might like it,” she said, then snorted. “They believe it’s magical. I hope _you_ are not that silly.”

“Of course not, sister,” Euphemia recited dutifully, turning the lamp in her hands.

Cornelia mumbled something under her breath before vacating the room. Euphemia raised the lamp to her eye level, inspecting the polished surface.

Now, what did Aladdin do? Rub it, of course.

When she dropped the lamp with a yelp not a few seconds later, Euphemia wasn’t sure who seemed more shocked- her, or the green eyed stranger standing in front of her.


End file.
